Saturday, May 20, 2017

It's been cold this week. We haven't seen snow in our area of Wellington, but it has covered some of the surrounding hills. I think we are just too near the coast for any of the white stuff to settle near here.

It has been bitterly cold though and I have been a bit worried about our outdoor Guinea Pigs. Errol is over five years old, which is getting on a bit in Guinea Pig terms. He is well over pensionable age! So I have stuffed their hutches with hay and insulated them with cardboard and newspaper. They seem to be coping alright at the moment.

I will start giving them hot water bottles when the temperature starts hitting minus numbers at night.

I have said many times before on these pages that New Zealand houses aren't really designed for winter weather. There is something in the Kiwi psychology that makes them unable to admit that it can get a bit chilly during the winter here. So many blokes over here still insist on wearing shorts and t-shirts when the temperature is not even hitting double digits. Maybe its a male thing. But then the houses aren't designed for cold weather either. We have just been to Mitre 10 again to purchase another heater to try and keep the downstairs of our house warm in the evening. Like most houses over here we do not have central heating and the heat from our wood burning stove unfortunately does not travel down stairs.

My eldest bravely played netball in the freezing hail on Saturday morning and understandably lost that game 23-1. However in the afternoon game (once the sun had come out) she won 37-nil. The rest of the weekend has been spent buying winter coats and thermals.

I also had a cold walk along the seafront withe the dog and had a wander around the garden to see if there was anything still alive after the cold nights we have been having!

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Mothers day started with netball practice this morning, way too early as we had to be at the courts by 8.30. Thankfully the rest of the day was much more relaxing.

As it was Mothers day, I had the choice of activities this Sunday, and I chose to go to my favourite place for a stroll, Queen Elizabeth Park in Paekakariki.

It was chilly but still stunningly beautiful as always.

The other half has decided to try and make a lamp shade out of the drift wood. Beautifully soft, white polished drift wood is found in abundance on this beach. So this morning we collected armfuls of suitably interestingly shaped wood to bring home and sculpt.

The coastline here is being eroded at quite a fast pace. The sand dunes have already moved back by at least a couple of metres in places since we have been in New Zealand. I should probably stop the kids from adding to the erosion by climbing them!

I was treated to lunch at my favourite cafe the Perching Parrot. The food here is always tasty and I love being able to sit outside and watch the world go by.

All in all, I have had a wonderful Mothers Day and we ended up with a very unusual new light fitting in our bedroom thanks to the drift wood!

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Winter sports season is here again and for us that means most of our weekends are now devoted to netball.

I believe I have said this before on these pages, but sport is a national obsession over here. On a Saturday, parents all over New Zealand ferry their kids between the rugby fields, netball courts and hockey games. Our local sports fields are heaving with parents, dogs and kids in various different sporting outfits and the odd coffee cart doing a roaring trade.

Our kids have graduated from doing soccer when they were younger to being devoted to netball. So Saturday mornings now involve cheering them on from the side of various different netball courts and taking the dog for a walk in between games.

Thankfully this Saturday was gloriously sunny, I am sure I am going to be less enthusiastic once the weather gets colder.

I was never involved in any team sports during my childhood, something which I regret greatly now. I love the opportunities they have over here and the enthusiasm and support they get from the volunteer coaches and the clubs that organise all the competitions. I shall be very sad when the kids get too old to be involved in this anymore. Either I will have to join a team or I'll have to wait until we get some grandchildren!

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Search This Blog

Views of Wellington

Kapiti Island

What this blog is about....

I have decided to keep this blog in the hope it will help people who are considering or have already made the move to New Zealand.We are so glad that we made the leap and would encourage others too. However it is not easy and I hope this blog will help to prepare people for some of the difficulties when you move to the other side of the world but also point out all the fanatstic things you gain.